Make a plan, now

THE SCENES OF DEVASTATION in New Orleans evoke sadness and compassion everywhere, but in California they also evoke a sense of uncomfortable foreboding. The Santa Monica Freeway -- or I-10, which is buried under water 1,900 miles east of Santa Monica -- isn’t the only connective tissue between Los Angeles and the Crescent City. Like the people of New Orleans, Californians clustered around L.A. and San Francisco tempt fate on a daily basis, having decided to live in a vulnerable place that Mother Nature could instantly extinguish.

Californians are no strangers to disaster. Name it -- earthquake, fire, flood, landslide, even levee failure -- and it has happened here. But, of course, it’s the earthquake that looms largest as iconic city killer. Before this week’s catastrophe in New Orleans, San Francisco in 1906 was the last major American city to take a near-fatal blow. First there was extensive damage from the quake itself. Even greater destruction and more loss of life followed as fire spread throughout the city. Firemen stood by helpless because there was no water. One major difference from the New Orleans situation was that many San Franciscans were able to get to the waterfront and take ferries to Oakland and other nearby cities that did not suffer such severe damage. The death toll was at least 700.

Katrina gives us pause from our daily lives to ask about the state of California’s preparedness for the next disaster. The California Office of Emergency Services has worked closely with local government to prepare the state to cope with such a disaster, but Californians also need to take individual steps to avoid finding themselves in a desperate situation such as that faced by New Orleans residents.

Historically, earthquakes have led to legislation that made the state better prepared for the next one. The 1933 Long Beach quake led to the Field Act, which provided for extensive reconstruction of California schools to make them safer. The most recent quakes prompted extensive freeway and bridge safety programs, although controversy has stalled until now the reconstruction of the east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

But what if a monster quake -- something in the magnitude 9.0 range -- hits greater Los Angeles? Certainly freeways would collapse, hindering attempts to flee the region. Some streets and roads not blocked by collapsed overpasses might be passable. But priority access would be granted to rescue and relief teams. Many are suffering in New Orleans because they did not, or could not, heed the order to evacuate. Of course, there’s no warning of an earthquake. But officials often order the evacuation of areas threatened by flood, fire or landslide.

In New Orleans, thousands of residents unable to evacuate -- most of them poor, trapped in more ways than one -- wandered the streets with nothing more than the clothes they wore. Such scenes demonstrate the need to improve evacuation plans for people who lack their own means of escape, and also the need for families to prepare to survive on their own, if necessary, for days following a disaster.

As often as this has been emphasized in California, the Office of Emergency Services estimates that only 25% to 30% of Californians have a plan of what to do in a disaster. Development of such a plan is not difficult. How to do so is outlined on the Emergency Services website, www.oes.ca.gov.

Katrina should serve as a reminder to all Californians that there is no excuse for being ill-prepared.